1984 Reading LogCourtney Butler

Woohoo

Part 1 Sections 1&2

Summary:

In sections 1 and 2, the author introduces the character and settings. Winston is the main character, and he works at the ministry of truth, where he experiences the Two Minutes of Hate. Winston is writing in his forbidden diary when he remembers The video from that day. Winston sees similar loathing in another members eyes regarding The Party. Winston is upset about the rigidity of The Party and it's rules and policies, including the invasion of privacy with telescreens. After Winston is done writing in his illegal diary, he hears a knock on the door, which he thinks is the police to arrest him. It is only his neighbor asking him to help her out. Winston gets back to his apartment and remembers a certain dream with the other member that seems to hate The Party. Then Winston hides his diary.

Quote: " “Thus, at one moment Winston’s hatred was not turned against Goldstein at all, but, on the contrary, against Big Brother, the Party and the Thought Police; and at such moments his heart went out to the lonely, derided heretic on the screen, sole guardian of truth and sanity in a world of lies" (Orwell 24).

Question: How do you think Winston's views on The Party may change throughout the novel?

Why does the author write Winston as a character with no family and seemingly no friends?

-it would be really terrible to live in this world because I would feel very trapped and oppressed. I would feel depressed and always angry.

-I think it is because people can do some pretty crazy and unimaginable things that can harm others

Part 1 Sections 3-6

Dreams

The author uses dreams to tell the reader what is going on and to externalize what Winston is thinking. Winston's first dream may seem irrelevant, but the author uses his dream about his mother to show what Winston is really thinking. The author leads Winston's character into some acrid conclusions about the control the government has over citizens and how that control takes away a seemingly indelible emotion- tragedy. In another example, the author again uses Winston's dream to show what he is thinking about regarding the government. Winston's dream is set in an august field full of elm trees and streams. Winston dreams of a girl and her beautiful movements as she removed her clothes. The author uses his dream to show how Winston can easily forget the government, its hold on him, and the never-ending war for this beauty. This shows that Winston does not think the government is worth much thought, and a distraction can easily quell his thoughts towards the government. These specific instances are utilized by the author to provide insight into Winston's mind and a look at what he is thinking.

Part 1 Sections 7-8

Discussion Questions

1. What does Winston mean when he says, "I understand how, not why"?

2. How does Winston think the Proles will lead to the downfall of The Party?

3. Why does Winston ask the old man about his life before the Rrvolution? What knowledge, if any, does Winston gain?

Answer

3. Winston asks the old man about his life before the Revolution because he wants to know if the Party is lying to him. Based off of textbooks, Winston sees how bad life supposedly was. However, The Party could have fabricated these stories to make people grateful for their lives now. The old man is not helpful and does not tell Isnston anything of importance.

Part 2 Sections 1-3

Winston and Julia

Winston and Julia have a very seemingly random relationship. They are brought together by their mutual hate for the party, and physical attraction. Winston very much enjoys Julia's youthfulness and the strength of her young body. This is the main reason on why Winston is attracted to Julia and pursues a relationship with her. For Julia, she sees Winston's hatred for the Party in his eyes. This attracts Julia to Winston even though Winston is much older than Julia. Julia explains her attraction when she says, "“It was something in your face. I thought I’d take a chance. I’m good at spotting people who don’t belong. As soon as I saw you I knew you were against them” ( Orwell 135). This shows Julia's attraction to Winston and why she feels the need to express her love for Winston at such an early time.

Slogan Activity

My poster displays the slogan "War is Peace". I decided to explain this slogan with an eye and a soldier in the middle. The eye symbolizes the idea that the Party is always watching you. The soldier in the middle sybolizes war and also the idea that war is the only thing the Party cares about maintaining, and is therefore in the eye. I created a bright and colorful background to attract people and to make the, feel safe and happy while reading my poster.

Part 2 Sections 4-8

Section 4: “It’s coffee,’ he murmured, ‘real coffee.’‘It’s Inner Party coffee. There’s a whole kilo here,’ she said.‘How did you manage to get hold of all these things?’‘It’s all Inner Party stuff. There’s nothing those swine don’t have, nothing. But of course waiters and servants and people pinch things, and—look, I got a little packet of tea as well" (Orwell 154).

Section 5: “She did not feel the abyss opening beneath her feet at the thought of lies becoming truths” (168).

Section 6: “What was happening was only the working-out of a process that had started years ago. The first step had been a secret, involuntary thought, the second had been the opening of the diary. He had moved from thoughts to words, and now from words to actions. The last step was something that would happen in the Ministry of Love. He had accepted it. The end was contained in the beginning. But it was frightening: or, more exactly, it was like a foretaste of death, like being a little less alive" (Orwell 173).

Section 7: “They could lay bare in the utmost detail everything that you had done or said or thought; but the inner heart, whose workings were mysterious even to yourself, remained impregnable" (181).

Section 8: “We are the dead. Our only true life is in the future. We shall take part in it as handfuls of dust and splinters of bone. But how far away that future may be, there is no knowing. It might be a thousand years. At present nothing is possible except to extend the area of sanity little by little. We cannot act collectively. We can only spread our knowledge outwards from individual to individual, generation after generation" (191).

Perpetual War Article Summary

In Michael Payne's article, the author discusses the similarities between America today and George Orwell's ideas in the book 1984. Payne writes that the book is simple to America today in three ways: perpetual war, public mind control, and pervasive government. The USA is almost always in war, which is simalair to the plot in 1984, where Oceania is always at war. Even though America doesn't have such drastic things like the Ministry of Truth and the Ministry of Love, the USA has certain aspects of government that make it very similar to Oceania. In these ways, America is becoming simalair to Oceania in George Orwell's book 1984.